


The Power of Phrasing

by jaydickery



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Equal Parts Fluff and Angst, M/M, This is DUMB, angry dick grayson, based off a tumblr prompt, but i like it, jaytoddz rom com style
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2016-11-08
Packaged: 2018-08-29 23:05:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8509012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaydickery/pseuds/jaydickery
Summary: Jason decides to Tweet his love of Dick. It doesn't go over nearly as well as he'd thought.





	

Red Hood leaned back against the cold, empty wall of his safe house and slid to the floor, breathing heavily. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and stuck one in his mouth.

“Don’t.” came an unwelcome complaint from the vigilante currently sprawled out on the floor next to him.

“My safe house, my rules.” Hood replied, lighting his cigarette and looking down appreciatively at the naked body of his…well…something.

It had been almost six months since he and Nightwing had started doing what they were doing. Initially, it had just been a string of hookups, sex that was so good, neither of them could say no to it. It was angry, brutal, borderline violent fucking. Just how Red Hood liked it. But somehow that sex had morphed from angry to passionate, from passionate to sometimes tender, and even, dare he think it, loving. Now they were hanging out beyond just hooking up, and Red Hood had liked partnering with Nightwing for some missions, and it had even gotten to the point where they weren’t always Red Hood and Nightwing. Sometimes they were Jason and Dick, and they would have dinner together, or they would go shopping together. They would watch a movie and cuddle on a couch together. He had a drawer in Dick’s apartment, and Dick’s clothing was in several of his safe houses. And one time he’d seen something he’d just known Dick would like, and he got it for him without even thinking about it. And Dick had shone when Jason had presented him with the small ceramic elephant, and he had looked at Jason in a way that no one had ever looked at Jason. He had looked at Jason and Jason’s stomach had turned in a way that was both uncomfortable and pleasant.

All of which wasn’t to say they didn’t still just get together to fuck sometimes. This time they had made it just past the entryway before Red Hood had pushed Nightwing up against the wall and attacked him with a hard kiss. And then Nightwing’s legs were around his waist, and Red Hood had struggled to rip the suit off him when there had barely been an inch between them. But he had gotten it off, and he had pushed into Nightwing and pounded him into the wall mercilessly, his partner’s uniform hanging off one ankle, as he stood still fully dressed, his own waist crushed between the other man’s powerful thighs. And when Nightwing tossed a long leg over his shoulder and screamed as he was hit just right, Red Hood had come long and hard, fingers digging in deep to his partners’ ass cheeks, and growling into his neck. And now Nightwing was laying on the floor naked, and he was enjoying a well-deserved after sex cigarette.

“It makes you smell like smoke.” Nightwing observed.

“You don’t seem to care that much.” Red Hood replied, letting the cigarette hang from his lips obnoxiously.

Nightwing sat up suddenly, and pulled the mask from his face. He was Dick Grayson again. He crawled onto Red Hood’s lap, drew the cigarette out of his mouth and, when the man opened his mouth to complain, kissed him deeply.

The protest died in Red Hood’s throat, and his kissed back, feeling his spent cock struggle to respond to the naked man on his lap. But it was too soon, and he held Dick in his arms instead.

Dick then pulled off the red domino on his face. He leaned in until his lips were brushing Jason’s ear and whispered the potent words:

“I love you.”

Jason swallowed and said nothing. He wanted to say it back; he needed to say it back. But he couldn’t.

“You wasted a perfectly good cigarette.” He said instead.

Dick pulled back with a grin. He planted a chaste kiss on the other man’s lips and stood, moving away from him.

Jason hummed appreciatively when Dick bent over to retrieve his discarded costume, but Dick ignored him. He pressed down on his own cock and groaned in discomfort; it was still too soon.

“Stick around.” he suggested, making a grab for Dick’s wrist.

Dick danced away from him, “Can’t. I’m supposed to meet Bruce at the manor. Pretty sure I’m already late.”

Who cares? Jason thought to himself, but he didn’t say it out loud. That was a landmine he had stepped on too many times.

“You could come back after.”

“I’ll probably have to spend the night, actually. But if you’ll be at this safe house, I can stop by tomorrow?” He looked at Jason questioningly.

Jason nodded silently, ignoring the jealous knot in his stomach. He got to his feet, intending to pull Dick into a bruising kiss goodbye, but Dick flicked him on the nose when he leaned in and laughed when Jason pinched him in revenge. He pecked Jason on the lips, cartwheeled backwards, leapt out the window, and disappeared into the night.

Leaving Jason alone to pore over his own thoughts; Dick had told him he loved him, and he hadn’t said it back. Why hadn’t he?

He loved Dick; he knew he did. He’d worked so hard to deny it, to keep the other man at arm’s length, but it had all been for naught. Dick had crawled right under his skin, past his armor, past the wall he told himself would keep him safe. Dick had made himself at home right in Jason’s heart. And he deserved to know that.

But it was too late to tell him. So he’d just have to tell the world. He grabbed his phone, pulled up his Twitter account and impulsively typed it out, once and for all:

I FUCKING LOVE NIGHTWING.

He shut his phone off, undressed, and crawled into bed. He fell asleep smiling to himself softly, at peace.

  


What was decidedly not peaceful was the insistent rapping on his door at nine in the morning. Jason stumbled out of bed, shoved a small pistol in the back of the waistband of his shorts, and answered the door with a scowl.  
He was met by the familiar face of a clean-cut, freshly shaven goody-two shoes, who was eyeing him skeptically, a hint of annoyance in his gaze.

“When I said you could come over I didn’t mean first thing in the morning.” Jason groused, letting Dick in and tossing his pistol casually on the entry table.

Dick’s eyes followed the movement silently. Jason leaned in to kiss him, but Dick dodged him and moved further into the safe house, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I’ve just had the most awkward morning of my life, thanks to you.”

Jason frowned, “What do you mean?”

Dick looked at him, unimpressed, “I stayed over at the manor. Which meant waking up and having to explain to Bruce and Damian your…late night declaration.”

Late night what? Jason opened his mouth to inquire further, and then promptly remembered his late night impulsive social media-ing. The World’s Greatest Cockblocking Detective must have seen it.

“Oh.”

“Is that all you have to say for yourself? God, Jason, what was even the point of that?!”

Jason crossed his own arms over his bare chest defensively. Dick woke him up for an argument, really?!

“I think you can guess the point of it, DIckie-bird. What’s got your feathers all ruffled, anyway? Ashamed of me now?”

“Ashamed of you? What do you mean?”

“Daddy’s not happy with you being nailed by ‘his greatest failure’?” Jason pushed.

“Oh, GROW UP, Jason! I knew it! You’re so immature! I knew you were just looking to rub something in his face!”

“RUB IT IN HIS FACE?! What the hell, Dick?! God, I didn’t think you’d react like this! Jesus. I assumed you knew. It’s the only reason I’d put up with all your bullshit. It’s the only reason anyone would put up with your bullshit. Damn.” Jason scrubbed the back of his head angrily. So maybe he shouldn’t have tweeted out his love for Dick to the world, but he had assumed Dick would at least be happy knowing he loved him! But of course, Bruce must have seen it, and Bruce must have been interrogating Dick about them, and now Dick was here giving him a headache. Didn’t Dick realize what a big deal it was for him to be able to admit his feelings to himself, let alone anyone else, let alone EVERYONE else?! Why didn’t he see that?

“You mean it?” Dick asked shakily, he face red and his eyes too bright, “That’s why you keep me around? The only reason?”

Jason frowned. What other reason did he need?

“Um, yes?” He yawned and reached for the other man, wanting to go back to bed. Maybe Dick would join him, “Now why don’t you come here, and we can-“

SMACK!

Jason reeled in shock, his cheek red with a handprint. Dick had slapped him hard enough to make his head spin. “What the actual fuck?!”

But Dick was gone in a flurry of tears and footsteps.

And Jason was left standing alone, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

He was about to drive straight to the manor and beat the ever living shit out of Bruce Wayne for continually ruining his life when he phone rang.

“Roy.” He answered.

“Jason, what the hell?” Roy greeted him, not bothering to hold back a snicker, “Why are you being such an asshole?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I mean, it’s not that I don’t think it’s funny; I think it’s hilarious. But a certain bird, and an overprotective Daddy Bat might not find it so hilarious.”

Jason growled. Was that it? Had Dick thought he had been joking?

“Lesson one, Jaybird: Don’t be an asshole to people you’re screwing. Or they may stop letting you screw them,” Roy chuckled in a way that could only be described as fond, “I learned first-hand. He’s got that hot gypsy blood; short temper, holds a grudge.”

“One, don’t call him a gypsy. Two, how was I supposed to know he would freak out?! I thought it would make him happy!”

“Happy? Are you crazy? Are we talking about the same Dick Grayson, my drunk-tweeting friend?”

“I wasn’t drunk! Jesus Christ! All this, just because for once in my life I love someone!” Jason yelled in frustration.

“You love him? Seriously? Well, you should have just said that!”

“That is was I fucking said, you fuck!” Jason raged, “But he’d already left, so I just said it on Twitter, to get it off my chest!”

“Um…that is not what you said on Twitter.”

“Are you stupid?” Jason replied meanly, pulling out his laptop and opening the website.

Red Hood had tweeted last night, at 3:26 am:

I LOVE FUCKING NIGHTWING.

Jason stared. It wasn’t…he hadn’t…

He replayed the entire conversation with Dick in his head.

Oh.

“Fuck.”

But Roy wasn’t listening. Roy couldn’t hear anything over the sound of his own cackling.

Twenty minutes later, Jason found himself sitting at Roy’s table, hitting his head on said table over and over again.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” He chanted to himself.

Roy was decidedly unsympathetic. When he could make himself stop snickering (which he only did after Jason threatened to shoot him) he just tutted at Jason and made useless suggestions.

“You should probably apologize.” Captain Obvious enlightened Jason sanctimoniously.

“Fuck. Fuck-How am I supposed to do that? He’s never going to talk to me again!” Jason buried his face in his hands and actually felt his chest constrict a bit. Apparently a heartache wasn’t just a figure of speech.

Roy finally took pity on him. He walked over and placed a supportive hand on Jason’s shoulder, “Jay, just try saying you’re sorry; it goes a long way.”

Jason said nothing.

“You know, the thing about Dick Grayson is that whenever he’s…you know…dating someone,” Roy began, quickly amending his word choice after catching a glare from Jason, “he throws himself into it completely. Kory and I have talked about it; he loves completely. Which feels amazing.” Another glare. “Just let me finish! What I’m saying is, you need to show him something back. He needs to feel like you’re trying. Even if you could never match up to him. I mean, can never match up to him.” Roy turned away, but his red ears didn’t escape Jason’s notice. “He needs to know, Jason. He needs to know you love him. Or he’ll assume you don’t and he’ll fly away and find someone who does.”

Jason stood. Never had he imagined that Roy Fucking Harper would be the voice of reason in his life. But Jason knew what he had to do, and he had to do it right fucking now.

“Roy, you’re a genius.”

“Get lost, Jaybird,” Roy replied with a half smile, “don’t let him get away.”

  


Jason felt like the world’s biggest cliche, sneaking through Dick’s crappy window in his crappy apartment with an armful of crappy flowers.

Actually, the flowers were quite nice. With a little input from his ginger friends he had come up with an impressive variety of daisies, roses, and a bunch of other shit Jason couldn’t pronounce. Balancing the bouquet in one arm, Jason hopped inside, and tried to pull his other leg through the window. He’d surprise Dick and tell him he loved him, once and for all. He’d fix this.

Except, life had never been overly kind to one Jason Todd. So, instead of the graceful sneaking he had planned for, Dick’s shitty window slid shut on his ankle, causing him to drop the flowers, fall on his face, and twist his ankle in one impressive move.

Jason shouted a curse, all subtlety forgotten, and was greeted with not only DIck’s shocked face, but that of his loyal Demon Spawn, who proceeded to leap on top of Jason.

“Todd, you callous bastard! How dare you defile Grayson! My Grayson!”

“ACK!” Jason yelped as he was assaulted with small, powerful fists, “Get away from me, you little demon!”

“You are not welcome here! You will not fraternize with Grayson!” Damian hissed.

“And what do you mean, your Grayson? I knew him before you were even born! Or hatched. Or, incubated, whatever!”

“Cut it out, both of you!” Dick scolded, as if he were talking to two children, instead of one demon child and a helpless, crippled victim. He grabbed Damian by his collar. Damian made a noise like an angry cat, but didn’t shove him off.

“What are you doing here, Jason?”

“Please. I just want to talk!” Jason got to his knees and tried to stand, but his ankle had other ideas. Wincing in pain, he stayed on his knees and looked up at Dick.

Dick sighed, “Damian, can you give us a minute, please?”

Damian looked affronted, “Surely you have nothing to say to this reject Robin, Grayson. At least nothing that can’t be said in front of me.”

Dick looked back at him and Damian fidgeted for a moment, “Very well. I will station myself in the parlor…should you need me.”

Damian left after shooting Jason a glare, and Dick looked down at him. Jason suddenly felt very small.

“I…uh…I edited the Tweet.” Jason began sheepishly.

“Jason-“

“Dickie, please!” Jason interrupted, “I never meant to say that. I mean, I meant to say something similar, but I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, I mean that too, but I wouldn’t say it like that, I’d just say it to you, and-“

“Jason! What are you talking about?”

“I love you!” Jason blurted gracelessly. “Uhh. Yeah. Most ardently.”

“Most what?”

“It’s from…it’s from Pride and Prejudice. I wanted to say it to you. I…I’ve always wanted to say it to you.”

Dick stared at him saying nothing. Which wasn’t really a problem, because now that Jason had started talking, he couldn’t quite stop.

“I’ve always loved you. Ever since I saw you. You’re just so amazing, Dickie. When I was a kid I was jealous of everyone you talked to, everyone you touched. Everyone you looked at. All your friends and your…girlfriends and boyfriends and just everyone. I was jealous of them all. I wanted to be the only one you looked at. I still want that. Cause you’re the only person who sees me. The real me. And thinks I’m enough.”

Dick was still silent.

“I listened to a bunch of shitty music and thought about you. Like Michelle Branch. You know that song Everywhere? I sang it in the shower. I thought about you. Which isn’t to say that I only thought about you in the shower! I mean I did, like, the first time I ever…but…uhhh.” Jason laughed nervously, feeling his face turn red, “I didn’t mean to say that. I just mean…you always…uh…I just have always…”

Dick put a finger to his lips, “I know. Even then, I knew. Well, not the part about the shower, but the rest.”

“You knew? How could you have known?”

“Alfred.” Dick said simply.

“Alfred!” Jason yelped, betrayal evident on his face, “How could he? He promised me he’d never tell!”

Dick started laughing now, doubled over, tears coming to his eyes.

Jason frowned, brow furrowed, and glared at him. He was glad Dick was so amused by his clear annoyance.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Jason,” Dick chuckled, wiping a tear from his eyes, “it’s just…no matter how different you think you are, you’re still that kid I knew. Especially when you frown like that. You’re still that Jason. It makes me feel like I never lost you.”

Jason huffed in annoyance, “Yeah, whatever. I’m not a kid anymore, Dickie. Come down here and I’ll prove it.”

“Aw, and that’s just how he would’ve hit on me.”

“Nah; he was too much of a pussy to hit on you. Intentionally, that is.” Jason replied softly, his face going red again, “He was a coward.”

“I liked him,” Dick replied simply, bending down to pull him up, “let’s get some ice on that ankle.”

Jason balanced on one leg and grabbed his face, pulling him in for a long kiss. Dick’s arms circled his waist and when Jason pulled away he rested his forehead against Dick’s and just looked down into his perfect blue eyes.

“Ahem!” came an unwelcome voice from the hallway. Their heads turned simultaneously. Damian glared at them through the now-open door, “I still do not approve, Grayson.”

Dick smiled, looking back at Jason, “You’ll understand when you’re older, Damian.”

“Doubtful.” Damian sneered, “Why would you want to waste your time with an ingrate like Todd?”

“Maybe you should ask you mo-mmph!” Jason was cut off by Dick’s lips on his again.

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Dick ordered cheerfully, “you’re in no condition to fight.”

Jason kissed his cheek, “I edited the tweets.”

He brandished his phone at Dick, who accepted it and opened the Twitter app.

I LOVE FUCKING NIGHTWING

***I FUCKING LOVE NIGHTWING

WELL, BOTH, BUT MOSTLY THE SECOND ONE.

Dick grinned, rolling his eyes, “Stick to quoting Austen books, Jason. Your own material really needs work.”

“Okay.” Jason said, and he traced the potent words again onto Dick’s shoulder as his love helped him into the living room.


End file.
